Plasma centers have surged in Raleigh. Donors say it helps them make ends meet.
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Raleigh plasma centers rose from two to eight by 2025.
- Donors say plasma payments help cover bills, gas and groceries.
- U.S. plasma growth helps supply global immunoglobulin amid ethical debate.
At a clinic in northeast Raleigh, a line of donors trailed across the checkered linoleum floor as they waited their turn to sit in a cushioned chair and fill a blood bag with their plasma.
Most were there to help a stranger in need by donating plasma — a protein-rich component of blood that contains antibodies used for treating trauma survivors or immunocompromised patients.
But many also came to pocket a check to help pay for gas, groceries and other daily essentials that many said have become too expensive to cover with their day job alone.
“Everything is going up, and I need some extra money, especially for gas and food,” said 42-year-old Weston Johnson, who works at Olive Garden.
Donors frequent their local centers about twice a week to receive $30 to $70 per donation, with payments varying by center and how long a person has been donating.
Carlton Armond, 65, used to donate his plasma in Charlotte over 30 years ago, but as the cost of living continued to rise during his retirement, he resumed donating again last year for extra cash.
“It helps me, and it helps someone else,” said the retired janitor at N.C. State University. “We need a lot of help nowadays, and there’s not too much we can do. When gas goes up, everything else goes up.”
Aside from the needle pricks, Armond said donating his plasma is a simple process that “helps everybody,” and has helped him pay for things like electric bills and gas.
“For the times when I had nothing, I had something,” he explained. “I didn’t have to ask, I didn’t have to eat something I didn’t want to eat. I didn’t have to accept anything from anyone. I had a decision. I had a way of getting out of this.”
International demand
More than 200,000 Americans visit a center each day to donate plasma, and that number has grown in recent years, said Peter Jaworski, a professor at Georgetown University who studies the business and ethics of the plasma industry.
As of last year, the U.S. had more than 1,200 plasma centers, according to Jaworski’s research, and Americans donated more than 62.4 million liters of plasma, a nearly 13% jump from two years prior.
North Carolina has seen a nearly 160% growth in plasma centers, Jaworski said, from 19 centers in 2015 to 49 centers in 2025. And within the Triangle, its two centers in 2015 climbed to about six in 2025.
But driving donation growth is not just more donors, Jaworski said, but growing international demand for medicines made from a protein in plasma: immunoglobulin, which fights infection.
As demand for immunoglobulin climbs every year, he said countries such as Australia and in Europe can’t collect enough plasma to meet their patients’ needs because of laws prohibiting compensation for plasma donations. That puts the onus on the U.S. to steer the global flow of plasma, he said.
“So you’ve got a global growth rate of 6 to 8 percent, but Europe isn’t collecting 6 to 8 percent more plasma every single year, and neither is Canada, and neither is Australia, and neither is New Zealand,” Jaworski said. “So all of that demand falls to the United States to supply the entire world with plasma used to make these medicines.”
Several centers serving Raleigh are operated by global health-care companies, some with roots in Europe. Octapharma Plasma, which has two locations in the Triangle, is a Switzerland-based company. Grifols Plasma, which also has two local locations, is headquartered in Spain, though much of its medical manufacturing is based in the U.S.
Paying for plasma
Critics have long raised concerns about the ethics of paying for plasma. Some argue price tags shouldn’t be placed on body parts or that payment could incentivize donors to lie about their health histories. Others say donations should instead be prompted by altruistic motivation.
The World Health Organization also advises against paying people for their plasma, saying the “safest” donors are “voluntary, non-remunerated blood donors from low-risk populations.”
But Jaworski said with hour-long appointments multiple times per month, offering donors money “makes a big difference.”
“[Plasma] really does save lives,” he said. “It’s really important. I think that’s something that people should bear in mind.”
A spokesperson for CSL Plasma, a donation center with a location in Raleigh, said the company pays its donors because “their efforts allow us to create life-saving therapies for people who rely on them.” And plasma donations from the U.S., they noted, make up about 70% of the world’s plasma therapy requirements.
“Without this supply, there would not be enough plasma to meet the needs of patients around the world,” they said in an email.
To many donors — including Craig Rivera, a former Marine who’s been donating his plasma in Raleigh since last year — that trade-off is a “no-brainer.” He said donating twice a week allows him to support his teenage daughters while he’s between jobs — and while also “doing something good.”
“It’s about bridging the gap,” he said. “My savings is going toward bills, and the rest of the disposable income goes toward the kids. It’s helpful for not saying no to my girls.”
This story was originally published April 13, 2026 at 8:00 AM with the headline "Plasma centers have surged in Raleigh. Donors say it helps them make ends meet.."
